Flying Through Snowy Southern California, Virtually

Microsoft Flight Simulator offers an opportunity to explore unique weather conditions—and the pucker factor—before takeoff.

Peter James

Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 07:51 PM ET

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A Carenado G1000-equipped Cessna 182 Skylane in Microsoft Flight Simulator. [Courtesy: Peter James]

Key Takeaways:

MSFS2020 accurately replicates challenging real-world weather conditions, including heavy snow, wind shear, and terrain effects, validating its live weather system.
Physical flight controls like the Honeycomb system significantly enhance immersion and realism, improving the connection between simulator experience and real-world flying proficiency.
Modern flight simulators, with their advanced weather modeling and realistic hardware, have evolved into powerful tools for both hobbyists and professional aviators.

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Earlier this month, record snowfalls and cold hit Southern California. I grew up in the Los Angeles valley and have always loved flying in the area on any flight sim. One of my favorite places to visit is Big Bear City Airport (L35), perched at over 6,000 feet msl on top of a ridge near lakes and ski resorts. I decided I’d put real weather to the test to see how good it is, compared to the most recent actual METAR.

On this particular day the winds were 250 at 8 gusting 17 kts., 4 miles in mist, scattered at 700, broken 1100, broken 1600. [Courtesy: Peter James]

Conditions were lousy—a snowy scene with snow squalls or flurries about. The radar on ForeFlight showed the snow showers in spots west and southwest of the field. Since live weather runs constantly, I wanted to take a look.